Tyed

chapter forty eight

"Well," Nancy says after a long, long moment of silence, "what do we do?"

Tyler is tracing patterns in the table. He looks over at Tee, around at the club patrons, can't can't focus. He shrugs.

"Well, you've got to talk to her then," Nancy says, leaning across the table. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm worried I've forgotten how," Tyler sighs, unsure where these thoughts are coming from; they form in his mouth rather than his head. "Or she'll want to leave the past behind."

"Oh, shut up. I was just talking about how great she was, wasn't I? You'll do fucking fine. I'm just sitting here wondering how this girl I've been getting to know and legit might have feelings for, you're just like, yeah she's my childhood best friend but I don't wanna talk to her? This is a weird moment. Ok, hold on, here's my plan."

Nancy takes a photo of him, leaving Tyler blinking in confusion. "Are you gonna-"

"Hold on." She shows him the picture, having typed onto it, taking my best friend to a bar, a caption that slightly betrays the fact she's forcing it a bit. Tyler honestly looks dumbstruck in the picture. "Should I send her that?"

"If you're gonna do that, at least take a good picture," Tyler snarks, "but- but why would you-"

"We'll see if she'll make the connection, and then you don't have to say anything."

"I'll still have to talk to her."

"You don't want to?"

Tyler leans on his hand. "I don't want to have to have had to stop talking to her."

"Lot of haves and hads."

"Shut up. Point is I don't know if we're the same people we were when we were friends."

"You're both my friends right now in this moment. You have a mutual friend."

Tyler looks up at her, and smiles softly. "I mean, you're right. I'm being kinda stupid, I just-"

She takes another photo of him with the same caption, which she shows him while he's still figuring out what that flash of light was. "Ok, I'm sending that. Okay?"

Tyler at least is smiling there, so he says nothing and lets her do it.

"You're freaking out about this, but like, you should be freaking out in a good way," Nancy says, leaning over and touching his arm gently. "You looked for her for so long."

Tyler shrugs, looking down at the table. "I guess I kind of assumed she was dead or gone forever, and I- don't- I don't know how to deal with good news anymore, you know?"

Nancy smiles. It slowly gets wider. "We found her, Tyler. We found her. And she's alive and well and doing great and-"

"And you have a crush on her," Tyler laughs loudly. Nancy shushes him, and Tyler leans in closer to laugh into his hand.

"Well, I hope to be seeing a lot of her then," Nancy says. "What a small fucking world."

It's at those exact words that Tyler's phone begins to ring. It's on silent, but he can feel it buzzing against his leg. He takes it out and immediately answers, eyes only glazing over the name that shows up- but long enough to register it.

"Look up," Colby says, a smile in his voice. Tyler does, looks up at the same balcony he first met Colbys eyes on before, and almost as Tyler expected him to be, Colby's standing there, leaning over the edge with a little grin and the phone to his ear.

Tyler looks over at Nancy. "Hello," he tells Colby. "I was dragging my friends here, funny story."

"I'm not worried you were doing anything else," Colby says softly. "I was with my friends, as well. Do you want to come up and say hello?"